Seven people have been killed and three are missing following a landslide in India’s northern Himachal Pradesh state, officials said on Friday.
The victims add to a growing death toll from heavy monsoon rains in the country.
This also raises further fears about the proliferation of extreme weather events and impact of climate change around the world.
State Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said seven bodies had been recovered during rescue operations that were still under way.
“Three people are still missing and rescuers are looking for them,” he said.
In the Rajouri district of the neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir region, at least three people were reported dead from floods triggered by heavy rain, officials said.
“I am 58 years old and I have never seen such a severe flood in my life,” said Ved Prakash, a resident of Rajouri. He added that a local bridge was swept away by the deluge.
Himachal Pradesh rocked by series of deadly landslides and floods
Landslides and flooding have stranded dozens of tourists in recent days in parts of Himachal Pradesh, a scenic Himalayan region where many people from hotter parts of the country travel to escape high summer temperatures.
Some roads around areas where landslides occurred have been closed as a safety measure, said Saju Ram Rana, a police official in Himachal's Kinnaur district.
In the remote village of Honzar in the hills of Kashmir, the death toll from a flash flood on Wednesday rose to seven people, with 19 missing. A senior official there said rescue operations were under way but there was little chance of finding any more survivors.
From floods in China and Western Europe to forest fires in Lebanon and Turkey and heatwaves in North America, many parts of the world have been hit by extreme weather in recent weeks, raising fresh concerns about the impact of climate change.
In India, there have been increasing instances of extreme weather in recent years, causing large-scale damage to life and property.
Environmentalists warn climate change and indiscriminate construction in India's fragile coastal regions could lead to more disasters.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace
Rating: 2/5
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
